


How To Make Friends and Not Die

by Triforce_Green



Series: Some Assembly Required [2]
Category: Don't Starve (Video Game)
Genre: Author is forgetful, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Gen, Loneliness, Mental Instability, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Phobias, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Wilson Needs to Chill, error, possibly, strange new friends, strength in numbers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-10
Updated: 2016-09-08
Packaged: 2018-07-22 18:15:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,775
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7449286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Triforce_Green/pseuds/Triforce_Green
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wilson and Webber are taking on this cruel world!  But they're not the only ones, and nobody deserves to be alone.  To survive and escape, they're going to need all the help they can get.  Can they all get along, or will the pressure be too much?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Maybe It's Lost?

Webber watched as the recovering scientist poured over the science machine.  The boy was curious as to how Wilson intended to do either of the things he’d promised.  He could hear the man muttering, rubbing at the growing beard on his chin.  Webber rubbed at the stream of silk gracing their own face.  Daddy always shaved when his chin got hairy.

“Do we need to shave?”

At first the scientist didn’t seem to hear, working on fashioning some new type of machine.  He called it an “alchemy engine.” Webber’s father used to work on something that looked kind of like that, he recalled.  As Wilson slid a piece into place and the machine began to whir, he turned and looked at the little spider boy. 

“A shave…is a great idea…!”

He grabbed a piece of flint and something else Webber didn’t catch and quickly began to fashion a razor.  The spider attempted to look over Wilson’s shoulder to see him work, but as usual didn’t see more than glimpses.  Once the razor was made, Wilson stood.  The child watched him walk to the pond, barely within sight, and use its reflective surface to shave his scraggly beard. 

They did wonder why Wilson was bringing the hair back with him, but perhaps he had a use for it?  Wilson passed the boy the razor, and Webber noted with delight that the scientist didn’t even flinch when he reached up to take it.  He was getting used to their appearance, then.

“Do me a favor, Webber.  Bring be back the silk once you’re done shaving.  I could use it to catch bugs.” He explained.  Webber nodded, and happily ran over to the pond.  He knelt down, careful with the razor.  The one and only time he tried this before, he’d managed to cut himself badly. 

This time, however, it went off without a hitch.  Seeing some bubbles rise up in the water, though, Webber grabbed the silk and made a quick retreat back to Wilson’s camp. Their camp, right.  Wilson had promised he could stay, though he also made it clear that there was no guarantee their camp would survive.  Apparently the scientist had already had to start anew; judging from what he said, he’d had quite a bit of work put into his last camp as well.  That was too bad; having to start all over like that.  Well, at least this time Wilson had them to help! 

The eccentric man took the silk and began to work again, and this time Webber was sure he saw the scientist using twigs too.  Soon enough, a lovely bug net was in his hands.  Webber cheered. 

“Going to catch butterflies?” The kid asked.  Wilson nodded. 

“The butterflies here drop butter, sometimes, despite not being made of it.”  He pulled a face at that, and Webber remembered that the scientist had said this world didn’t make as much sense as theirs.  “Alright.  I’ll focus on the butterflies, but I’ll bring back whatever I find as well.  Webber?  If you could work on meat, that would work nicely.” 

The spider boy nodded.  “I can do that!” Their spider friends would help him collect, for sure!  Wilson smiled almost fondly at him, and Webber felt surprisingly accomplished. 

“Do be back well before dark.  In fact…” He produced a torch from his mess of stuff and handed it to Webber quickly.  “Just in case you wander too far.  It won’t last the whole night, though, so be careful.”

With that, they were both off.  Wilson was still avoiding the spiders, but since they wanted to eat him, it was understandable.  Webber, for their part, was in their element.  He used a carrot to catch a rabbit, and fed it to one of a small group of spiders nearby that had fallen asleep too far from their cozy den.  They giggled with delight when the spiders stood and began to follow him devotedly.  It would last for several hours.  He had plenty of time to bring back some meat.  Apparently Wilson couldn’t eat the monster meat without getting sick, so Webber made a note to catch something normal.  Maybe a turkey or something.

Before long, they found a pile of dirt.  Ooooh, that looked out of place!  Checking it revealed a really large footprint.  Whatever made this was big, and probably made of a lot of meat!  Webber excitedly took off in the direction of the footprint, beginning his track of the animal.  They did have to stop and catch another rabbit before he found the thing, feeding the spiders one more time. 

The end of the trail revealed an adorable fuzzy thing…Wilson called it a…Koalefant?  Webber thought that was what he’d described, anyway. 

“We will put you in our web!!”  They cried as he led his little spider friends into battle.  Luckily, he was small and nimble, able to get around the hulking creature’s charging attacks.  It wasn’t an easy fight, but it was made shorter by the sacrifice of one of the spiders.  He felt kind of bad about that, but quickly grabbed the meat and the trunk before his remaining friends could gobble it all down. 

“Ha!  We took its nose!”  They also took the silk dropped from the dead spider, leaving the monster meat for the others.  After packing everything away, they stood and looked around. 

“Uh oh…” They weren’t sure where they were.  This was bad.  The sun was beginning to sink over the horizon, and Webber had no idea which way camp was.  He trembled.  He didn’t want to be alone in the dark…!


	2. I Want My Nightlight!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Webber's lost and alone! Who will come to the little guy's rescue?

As the sun fell down over the horizon, Webber frantically lit their torch. The thought of spending the night alone, without the safety of camp, wasn’t pleasant, and he squeaked as he tried to figure out which way was back to camp. Taking a chance, he scurried along, grabbing twigs and grass along the way. They couldn’t run out of light, he couldn’t!

It was pitch black by now outside the small area lit by the flickering torch, and thus it took a moment for him to realize he’d stumbled into the swamp. It wasn’t until his feet started making a squishing noise that he looked down, seeing how muddy and gross the ground was. NO! No, they hadn’t passed through a swamp this way! They were going in the wrong direction! Choking back a sob, they turned and went another way, out of the muck. 

Desert this time?! Wrong again! Another turn, and he nearly walked off a cliff into the water. He had to replace his torch before the last little bit of embers went out, and his hands shook as he lit it. He needed more. He set off in yet another direction, trying to be brave. He could do this, he could last til morning…

Not looking where they were going, they collided with a tree and fell backward. Tears welled up in his eight eyes, and he began to cry in earnest, sinking to the now forest floor, torch falling to their side. He curled up into a ball, waiting. At least if the monster in the darkness came, he wouldn’t be alone anymore. For a moment.

He could hear it, rustling around in the dark. It moved as if unsure, likely waiting for his flame to go out. He looked up, knowing he’d see nothing in the pitch blackness. So he was surprised to find himself spotting a small flame moving closer to him. It scurried along for a moment before stopping, the sound of things being picked up obvious. 

Another person? Webber dared hope Wilson had come to find him. As it came into view, though, he was met with the face of a little girl, her blond hair pinned back. He waited for the shrieking to begin. Girls were terrified of spiders, and he was likely to be squished, if she didn’t run away.

Instead, the girl stared at him, her dead eyes almost curious. She came closer, slowly, cautiously. But she came.  
“Were you…crying?” She asked, her voice nearly flat. Webber shrank back a little.

“I-…I thought you were a monster!” He said defensively. The girl studied him, and he felt more like a specimen under her gaze than he did Wilson’s. Finally, she tutted. She came over and sat next to him, patting their shoulder. 

“I wish I could feel that.” He mumbled.

“I wish I could feel anything.” She replied. They looked at her a moment and smiled a little, their fangs flashing as he did. She shrugged.  
“I’m Wendy.”

“Webber.”

“Hello, Webber. What are you doing wandering around in the dark?”

Webber felt embarrassed. “I got lost. Mr. Wilson sent me to get some stuff and I promised I’d be back before dark, but I got turned around and couldn’t find my way back and now I don’t know where I am and I ran out of torch stuff and kept making things worse…” He sniffled, wiping his face on a leg. 

Wendy had begun assembling a small campfire by the light of her torch. He watched her for a moment. “What were you doing in the dark?”  
She shrugged. “Looking for blue mushrooms. They only come out at night…” She supplied calmly. Webber tilted his head. He hadn’t known that! Wilson probably did, though. Blue mushrooms must be good if they were worth wandering around in the dark for…

The campfire blazed brightly, and Webber relaxed slightly. Mr. Wilson would be mad at him, but at least it wasn’t dark anymore. And he had someone with him, someone who talked to him. That was nice, too. “Thanks for helping me…”

Wendy put out her torch and sat back down. “We’ll die out here eventually. Might as well die together.” She said with a shrug.

It was a grim outlook, but a small part of him wondered if she was right. He…didn’t want to think about it. It hurt too much. So instead he said nothing, fidgeting quietly in the protective firelight, Wendy poking the fire idly with a stick. 

“Who is Mr. Wilson?” 

“What?” Webber was surprised to hear her break the silence. 

“Mr. Wilson. Not a family member of yours, or you’d have called him that. Who is he?”

Webber frowned. “He was the first person I found here. Or, he found me. He’s terrified of spiders, but he still helped me.” 

Wendy stared at him again. “I see. You feel you can trust him?”

Webber nodded. After that, she seemed satisfied. “Then I suppose I’ll help you find him, if you like.”


End file.
